Sir, - At various times during the decade since the first faltering steps of the peace process and in the five years since the announcement of the ceasefires your newspaper has voiced criticism of a number of people, much of it warranted. You took a stance against the Hume-Adams initiative and, most notably, were severely critical of the then Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, for his handling of the ceasefire of 1994, reserving for him the dubious distinction of being a politician rather than a statesman.
It is noteworthy, therefore, that your editorial comment of July 16th expresses criticism only of Tony Blair and implies similar criticism of the Way Forward document and its legacy to David Trimble of the uneasy position in which he finds himself. One could quite reasonably take from your comments that your newspaper is critical of those taking both personal and political risks for this process, while voicing no similar criticism for those who stall, block progress and consistently attempt to re-negotiate agreements after their approval both by the parties and, more importantly, the people.
What I found particularly curious is your assertion that, despite yesterday's farcical turn of events, the Belfast Agreement is still in place. If this is indeed the case, its condition is critical. The principles of democracy espoused so vociferously by many in the North do not appear to apply to referendums; rather, this principle seems to have a limited distribution, a selective application, and it is surprising that no comment is reserved for this absurdity. The hopes of the entire island arising from the commendable restraint of the Orange Orders' celebrations have been dashed and the hundreds of thousands of decent unionists have been tarnished and let down by their representatives.
You have expressed the view in the past that this agreement should be overturned if the alternative was to be seen to be embracing the corruption of giving in to Republican demands. It would appear, Sir, that there are, unfortunately, many in Northern Ireland who whole-heartedly endorse this view. - Yours, etc.,
Ian Headon, Grange Park Road, Raheny, Dublin 5.